Researchers at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, QC and members of the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study have found that apolipoprotein B (apoB) appears to represent a better index of cardiac disease risk than does low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) level. The study showed that patients who had a high triglyceride level and a high apoB were the ones more likely to have high blood sugar, more insulin resistance, more inflammation, and more prothrombogenic factors. The group suggests two choices for assessing patients at risk. 1) Include apoB as part of a routine panel, 2) run apoB when patients present with high triglyceride levels or a low HDL.
Source: Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, November 11, 2003

Scientists at the Weill Cornell School of Medicine, New York, have discovered a potential new marker to diagnose acute cardiac events in the ER. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) is made in white blood cells and produced when arteries are inflamed and have rupture-prone fatty deposits. The researchers suggest that MPO testing can detect the early stages of a heart attack. Further it could be used with other tests such as hsCRP as a marker of inflammation and cardiac disease risk. The study used the OXIS-MPO Oxidative Stress assay from Oxis International. Inc.

Recent guidelines released by the American Thoracic Society and the European Respiratory Society advise that all adults diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, adult-onset asthma, or unexplained liver disease should undergo genetic testing for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. The rational for this is that alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency can masquerade as COPD or asthma. The test allows clinicians to prescribe enzyme replacement therapy in addition to those required for COPD management.
Source: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, October 1, 2003.